A different view on current affairs & history
Even though technically not a “son” of Port Elizabeth, having been born in Aberdeen in Scotland, John Paterson’s influence on Port Elizabeth was profound. Amongst his numerous achievements was the establishment of the Eastern Province Herald, now simply called The Herald.
Main picture: John Paterson
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Lawrence Green’s book Harbours of Memory sketches what the port cities of South Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s were like. It provides a vivid depiction of life in those days. This blog covers excerpts of his musings and prognostications on early Port Elizabeth’s harbour and shipping activities, its different communities, its highways and byways and the characters that inhabit it.
Main pictures: Baakens Valley in the 1860s
Over the 19th and 20th September 1854, the residents of Port Elizabeth had front-row seats as the three masted wooden transport ship, the Charlotte struck rocks at the bottom of Jetty Street during a gale.
Three separate reports have been included: The Times, the official report by the Deputy-Collector of Customs and by Lawrence Green
Main picture: The Charlotte being battered by the wind and the waves
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These are excerpts from the notes of Mr. C.G.H. Skead on the early days in Port Elizabeth written in 1939. They provide a personal view of the various activities and the development of shipping at that time. As he was born in 1871, these reminiscences probably relate to the period 1890 to the 1920s.
Main picture: Park Drive when it was considered to be “outside the Bay”
These are excerpts from the notes of Mr. C.G.H. Skead on the early days in Port Elizabeth written in 1939. They provide a personal view of the various activities at the harbour and the development of shipping at that time. These recollections take one back to a bygone era when life was simpler. Imagine still being able to swim on a splendid beach at the foot of Fleming Street.
Main picture: North Jetty with the Station in the background
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Until the 1870s, Port Elizabeth harbour possessed no jetties. By implication, the passengers and cargo had to be transhipped onto tiny surf boats for onward transport to the landing beaches. People were carried ashore on the shoulders of the Mfengus much to the distress of the females. In spite of this clumsy and archaic method of operation, Port Elizabeth rapidly processed more exports than its sister port, Cape Town.
This blog is a verbatim extract from the unpublished notes of Mr. C.G.H. Skead written in 1939.
Main picture: Surf boats in Algoa Bay in the 1860s
We have all heard about the strong possibility that San Francisco could experience further devastating earth quakes but how many residents of Port Elizabeth are aware that the city has three ancient fault lines under its surface.
Main picture: Fault lines in Target Kloof
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Port Elizabeth seems to be blessed with famous McWilliams names. Apart from the McWilliams of Rink Street, there was the father and son duo who were both famous architects: William and Herbert McWilliams.
Of the two, Herbert, the son, certainly led a full and varied life, worthy of a biography.
Main picture: Sprogs on the banks of the Swartkops River in 1955 – Herbert McWilliams’ sprog is #15
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Probably more criticism, chiefly adverse, has been levelled at this monument than any other in South Africa especially in the initial years. Much of the adverse comments have fortunately, long since abated as it is now considered to be an integral part of the city’s heritage and is totally synonymous with Port Elizabeth.
Main picture: The Campanile rises from behind the Customs House
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Interfering with Mother Nature might not produce a Newtonian response i.e. an action is followed by an equal and opposite reaction. Rather it generates sometimes arbitrary unintended consequences but responses nevertheless. In the case of Port Elizabeth, there has been interference with nature on a vast scale in the southeast area relating to the driftsands and the dune fields.
The ultimate consequence of these ill-conceived projects to redirect nature will result in the denuding of all the main beaches in Port Elizabeth, stripping Port Elizabeth of a potential lucrative tourist asset.
Main picture: Map showing the dune field systems in 1890. Summerstrand and Humewood were just one big sand dune